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Reconfigurator LIGHT ✪✪✪(Level 3) [Cyberse/Effect] ATK/ 1000 DEF/ 1000 During damage calculation, if a Cyberse monster battles a monster (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand to the GY; all face-up monsters switch their current ATK and DEF.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” -Psalm 32:8 (NIV) Melissa hadn’t actually realized she was still standing. Like, she knew she was standing, obviously, but she hadn’t quite parsed that she was standing just in the doorway while everyone else was sitting down until Sai had called her out on it. “Why don’t you sit down at the table with us?” he’d said. Melissa could only respond with a meek, “Oh, yeah, okay.” She grabbed one of the many empty chairs around the room, maneuvered it next to Hoshiko, and sat down. Sai, meanwhile, had kept talking, going on about how one could make an angel costume. Which was fine and all, but- no, it was great, actually. Melissa had spoken a lot but she hadn’t actually put more effort than that into the actual appearance, so it was nice that someone else could take her idea and run with it. There was just one little niggle. “I don’t- I don’t think I want the wings to change color, I think. Um,” Melissa said. “I don’t know. I- yeah, sorry. I don’t have a reason, just a gut feeling. “Or, um…” Again, Melissa backtracked the conversation. Sai was going through the effort of including her, shouldn’t she at least try and express herself a little more? “I guess I like the idea of ‘redeeming’ them through play? So I’d just have white wings and…” There was supposed to be more. Surely she had more, right? She wasn’t going to just end a thought like that, was she? But the only other thing she could offer was an “I’ll- I can show you I guess next meeting… or later or whenever, if that works better.” Sai nodded as he looked at his notes. “Alright, that sounds good,” he said. “I'll keep doodling some things for you in the meantime, alright?” “Alright,” Melissa said, and that was that. From Melissa’s point of view, the rest of the club meeting passed without incident. Sure, not everybody was done talking just yet, and it wasn’t like Melissa just zoned out entirely for the rest of the meeting, but nobody after Sai directly addressed her, so she was able to be a simple wallflower, neither grabbing attention nor getting in anyone’s way. Which was good, because she hadn’t quite realized how exhausting holding the spotlight like she had would be. She assumed it got easier with practice, but for now, all she wanted was to be alone and recharge for a moment. Her room was probably the best place for that, but she had to get there first. And standing between her and her room was Gabriela. “M-Melissa! My most loyal of s-servants! I d-demand you to a-accompany me to the K-Kickoff Cup this weekend!” Gabriela said. At that point, Melissa was used to not really seeing Gabriela until she was already upon her. That wasn’t the problem. Nor was the problem that she was getting shouted at; she imagined worse scenarios all the time, so she was used to that too (to an extent, anyway). No, the problem was the question itself. Or the implied question. Or… yeah. Because she remembered what Connor had texted her earlier: Just go have fun! The Kickoff Cup was something Melissa had made sure to have other plans for last year. She hadn’t expected to be asked or anything, but just in case, you know? This year, she’d had no such luck but had been confident enough that she’d made it under the radar that nobody would mind if she no-showed again. No such luck, though. The choice was simple: Yes or no. But instead of answering, Melissa made a noise not unlike a sharp intake of breath through the nose and just froze there like she didn’t realize those were the only two options. There were variations on different themes, sure. She could let Gabriela off gently or with a terse “No.” She could enthusiastically say yes or she could be reluctant about it. But each variation started out with the same crossroads, and that was where the real indecision lay. And each passing moment only made it worse. “I’d…” Melissa said. “Love to” and “can’t, sorry” were the only two follow-ups in her mind. Melissa wanted to say no. She wanted to say no because, well, because it was the Kickoff Cup! Whatever progress Melissa thought she might have made, the Kickoff Cup was still Melissa’s antithesis. There was going to be a very publicized duel, there was going to be a dance… I was going to be one thousand voices, all talking over each other in a dreadful cacophony of gibberish for an entire Saturday. “I’d…” But on the other hand, Gabriela had come up to her directly. She hadn’t texted or called -- and Melissa knew she’d given her her number! Not only that, but she also could guess from how Gabriela had asked that this was something important to her. Was she so selfish that she’d deny a good weekend for her friend just for some personal happiness? No. No, she wasn’t. There were bigger fish in the sea, other parties to avoid in the future for any number of reasons. Right now, though… “I’d love to,” Melissa said. She only hoped she wouldn’t regret it.

Reinaan simply nodded as Keres stated her relationship to Hannah. The woman had apparently been her teacher at the mage tower in the past and young Keres didn't appreciate her particular teaching style. He would keep it in mind for if they ever encountered her again. He didn't want the Water Chosen to have to talk to her anymore than she wanted to. He strongly doubted the council mages were more forgiving of behavior they deemed inappropriate than his fellow Draken had been with him. The boy's thoughts were interrupted by Hannah assaulting Lindow and holding him down to the ground. That she had this much force was astounding. But before Reinaan could process the information and ready to attack the woman she left with her guard. With many questions still in the air after the encounter, the Draken ultimately agreed with Lindow's urging them to get inside the town. The Fire Chosen was met with a scene he'd never really encountered before. There were so many humans all in one place, and so many different stores to go about and purchase things. Reinaan understood how purchasing things functioned but his experience was severely lacking. What deals his village had had with the nearest human settlement had been seen to by a select few of the stronger, older men and as such it was a duty that was never expected to fall to him given his stature. Still that wasn't going to stop him from getting some really cool equipment while he was here. He grabbed a hearty share of the party's gold, uncertain as to how much he would need. Lindow had moved off quickly to check over all the stores, a plan of action he intended to follow. Ryia had graciously offered to go food shopping for the group. With any luck the new Wind Chosen would accompany her. The boy didn't really want to leave her alone but also certainly didn't want to be the one left with her. He relocated some of what Kloqah had been hauling to the mule to prepare for his new purchases and began leading the mount through town. The young Draken had been initially uncertain how to act in this larger human settlement, but he soon found it to be quite like moving through the smaller ones. There were many more people and things to catch his eye true, but few people seemed to think anything of his or Kloqah's being there. Some looked twice briefly, no doubt used to any Draken in town being covered in Templar armor, but to them he was simply just another member of the crowd. It felt almost relieving. But then it got frustrating as he wanted to stand out. He wanted people to see him and be impressed. No doubt he'd need the extra foot to make it a reality. Reinaan's first thought was a new weapon. His trusty spear had held up thus far but memories of the undead creatures snapping through javelins in the underground made him think it necessary to get something a bit stronger. He was feeling stronger now too so the idea of a weapon with more heft and weight to it sounded appealing. His eyes took him to an impressive looking store lined with an arrangement of different bladed tools. With his experience being mostly in spears, he ignored the sword display and took a moment to chuckle to himself over guessing how many swords Lindow would return to the group with. An image of the Thunder Chosen unable to move due to the sheer number of blades falling off of him was amusing to say the least. But eventually his search brought him to pole arms. In particular the halberds caught his attention. The were something of a spear and an ax. They seemed longer and heavier than his spear which brought with it the feeling of being more sturdy as well. "I see you got yer eyes on my halberds." the store owner said from his seat. Reinaan nodded before the man pointed to some in particular. "Those on the end there will never break on ya. But they'll run ya a pretty penny." he commented. The Draken had never encountered the metal the supposed unbreakable weapons were before but he thought he'd heard the name once from the elders. Ada-something or other. He noticed a variety of less expensive steel halberds of varying quality. Though some of the staffs were made of wood which was curious to him. It was lighter than the fully metal weapons and the shop owner spoke of Feywood, a substance lighter than but also stronger than steel. After holding one in both hands and moving it about a bit, the boy settled on the feywood and was delighted to pack his new weapon onto Kloqah's back upon purchasing it. Reinaan continued moving about the market and soon came to an armor shop. Something had caught his eye. Something incredible. Something that made the boy consider actually wearing armor forever. It was a decadent silver armor set, with rubies laid into the metal work. The shine of the metal, the brilliance of the gems, this was everything the boy could have asked for in his life. But alas, his heart was crushed as the shop owner came to meet his obvious enthusiasm. Ten thousand gold it was for the whole of it. The Draken wasn't incredible with math but he knew very well that the group's entire gold fund couldn't have afforded it. He swore one day he would return, but while he was there he began thinking about something else. The mage that had healed him mentioned armor could have helped him take the burn better. The idea of gauntlets came to mind. However, none of the available sets really worked with the size and shape of his hand. They were meant for humans obviously. He could make something work but he'd be covering his claws which seemed foolish for one so used to fighting tooth and nail. The awkwardness didn't seem worth it and the boy decided in frustration that his scales would be enough for him. He did however also purchase a sharpening tool to keep the weapon in good condition. No doubt Lindow's army of swords would find it useful too. As the boy continued moving about town a man called out to him. Well, at least it seemed like him. There was prolonged eye contact and the Draken had to wonder if he was perhaps looking at someone behind him. After pointing to himself the man only nodded energetically and so Reinaan knew it was in fact him he'd been trying to get the attention of. "Hello dear Draken!" the man greeted him enthusiastically. "I couldn't help but notice the striking color of your scales. And I thought to myself, why that black would look amazing if only it shone a little more." he continued. Reinaan was still unsure of what was happening. "Please you must try my product, it will make you shine like the sun itself! Your white will be blinding! Your red fierce! And your black mysterious!" the man said with his excitement building as he tried ushering the boy to a stool. Something about the energy captivated him. "Let's do it." Reinaan agreed initially. "But uh... maybe can I see a test first?" he said after realizing he still had no idea what was about to happen. The man heartily agreed as he opened a jar and scooped a substance out of it that appeared to reflect light rather well. He applied a bit of it to the back of one of Reinaan's hands before using a wrag to spread it evenly across the surface. So far it only seemed like his hand was wet and the boy was uncertain if he was buying into all of this. But the man continued and produced a much finer looking cloth which he began rubbing the affected hand with in repeated circular motions. Then another cloth was produced that he held in both hands and began rubbing across the hand back and forth very vigorously. Before the boy's eyes his black scales caught the sunlight like they never had before, giving him a near mirror finish. He could see very subtle traces of color amidst the sea of black. Red and white pigment that had been snuffed out. It was incredible. "Wooooaaaahhhh" Reinaan said in awe of the difference in the two sides of his hand. "Can... can you do me all over?" he said, wanting very much to look like this entirely and all the time. The man's smile spread from ear to ear at the request and so the Draken sat at the provided stool, standing up when the occasion called for it, letting this man polish every square inch of his body. The two spoke some about their pasts. The man mentioned he used to know of a small Draken village somewhere and with the Templar presence here and there across the world he often wondered what their scales might like look if thoroughly polished. He had started trying to sell this service here but very few Templar were interested in such a purely cosmetic thing. How delightful then to see a Draken so shamelessly displaying each and every scale. With Reinaan's patronage his faith in the business decision had been restored, perhaps a bit more than it ought to have. Upon completion, the Draken reflected brilliantly from top to bottom. Reinaan joyfully paid the man for the service and a hearty amount of the polish and supplies needed so that he could keep it up in the future. "I can't wait til the others see me!" he said gleefully as he practically skipped off to the rest of the market. Ziiyol appeared at his side, only visible to the Chosen, and could only squeal with delight at the sight of her partner sparkling so radiantly. "Reiny..." she managed to say while practically in a trance. "You're so..." and the spirit couldn't complete her thought and simply continued to stare, trying to take it all in. She confirmed that every part of his body shone the same way, wanting him to move his legs arms and tail about to let her see. After the two shared a laugh Reinaan focused enough to notice a stand full of things that somewhat resembled the bandit's amulet. "Ah, welcome. I can't say I've seen one so shine so bright before." the shop owner spoke, taking note of the polished scales. Reinaan was proud to be standing out now and inquired what was being sold. He was told these were all magical items with a variety of spells cast on them. Though he pointed to one in particular. One the man referred to as an Amulet of Protection that would strengthen natural armors such as his fine scales. The idea of keeping his scales intact appealed now more than ever and Reinaan inquired into the price. It sounded like a lot but not nearly so much as they had on them in total. Surely it would be okay given they didn't need the gold to eat. And this way he could be protected without buying dumb looking armor. It seemed like the perfect solution. And so he bought it, figuring it for the good of the party that he be able to take more hits. He put it on and was taken aback at how little it seemed to shine compared to his own body. He'd have to go into battle to see just how strong the enchantment was but he was happy with his purchases and began leading Kloqah away from the market in hopes of meeting up with the others somewhere when they were done shopping. With how shiny he was he was confident the others would find him before he noticed them.